Harrisburg grieves loss of another community leader to COVID-19 – PennLive

Lisa Burhannan could be seen everywhere in Harrisburg.

She worked in the school district, taught classes at the prison and served meals to the homeless. She supervised a re-entry home for women and volunteered as a hospital chaplain.

If tragedy struck, she would rush to the scene, ready to assist grieving relatives.

If someone she loved had a special event, she was seated in the front row.

Even after Burhannan, 50, came down with pneumonia and tested positive for COVID-19 in late May, she kept up her efforts.

From her hospital bed in the intensive care unit last week, she sent her goddaughter money to get her nails done for a high school red carpet event and hosted a video conference on Zoom as coordinator of the Harrisburg chapter of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.

Days later, on June 11, she died, leaving behind her father, son, daughter, four grandchildren and a gaping hole in the nonprofit and volunteer circles of Harrisburg. Her death came nearly two months after the city lost School Board Member Gerald Welch to COVID-19.

Youll never be able to replace Lisa Burhannan, said Kevin Dolphin, who worked with her at his nonprofit, Breaking the Chainz. Never. She helped so many people. Its hard to believe shes gone. She was a role model and one who changed peoples lives.

Funeral services are set for 11 a.m. Saturday at the bandshell at Reservoir Park, with visitation from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Face masks are required as well as social-distancing.

In the months before she died, Burhannan helped open chapters of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice in York and Philadelphia, Dolphin said.

She had been active in the organization since 2017 and passionate about reducing violence and supporting crime victims and their families after losing her son to gun violence in the city in 2009.

Lisa posed with Kevin Dolphin and a citation they received from the Pa. House of Representatives for their work.

Burhannan also worked to help formerly incarcerated people by overseeing a community restoration center on 6th Street for Breaking the Chainz, Dolphin said.

As part of her work, she taught classes at the prison. Burhannan had a presence and booming voice that commanded respect, friends said. She had credibility as someone who previously ran the streets when she was younger, but turned her life around and became a devoted follower of God.

Burhannan fiercely loved her family and doted on her grandchildren. She and her grandsons other grandmother, Paulette Smith, often would joke about who spoiled the boy more.

He has you wrapped about his pinky, Burhannan would say, and Smith would retort: Youre on the other pinky.

Burhannan also had a playful sense of humor. She loved snapping pictures of friends when they were least expecting it and then posting the photos on social media.

She also carried a large cup of ice with her, nearly everywhere she went, so she could chew on the ice. It could be freezing out and shed still have her cup of ice, friends said.

At church, she was known to show up late, make her way to the front of the church and ask whomever was sitting in the front pew to scoot over so she could have her usual seat.

Lisa didnt have an inside voice at all, Smith said. She would be whispering on the front row and you could hear it all the way in the back of the church.

Burhannan was funny, but when she had a project at hand, she meant business, said Ralph Rodriguez, who worked with her at Breaking the Chainz.

She really wanted to help people, he said. Sometimes that meant snapping at people and she would do it to get them in line.

Rodriguez said he was on a Zoom call with Burhannan in the days before she died, and they were talking about how the pandemic was impacting their efforts to help the community.

She led the meeting, and we could hear her coughing and gasping, Rodriguez said. But she held it together. She was strong as an ox. We closed the meeting out with a prayer.

Antoinette Black said shell never forget Burhannans loyalty after her mother died in a house fire two years ago while saving several grandchildren.

When my mom passed, Lisa was at my house every day, Black said of her cousin.

Burhannan helped make calls, receive guests, coordinate the service and talk to news reporters on behalf of the family, Black said.

Even when everyone stopped coming around and calling, Lisa was still right there, Black said. Lisa has been there for so many who lost loved ones.

Previous jobs for Burhannan include working at the YMCA at Camp Curtin and at the Neighborhood Center in uptown.

Tisha Barber said she got to know Burhannan after she became close with her daughter, who participated in programs at the Neighborhood Center.

Lisa had a strong personality and I have a strong personality, Barber said. So we clashed at times, but I saw her passion for children and we formed a tight bond.

At the center, Burhannan started a gospel dancing group for the kids. When she worked at Marshall Math and Science Academy last year as a paraprofessional, she stepped up to sponsor a dance team for an in-school competition when they needed volunteers. Her team won first place.

One of her former dance teams is expected to perform at her funeral, per Burhannans wishes.

Many of Burhannans friends expected her to come home from the hospital eventually, especially after she was able to sit up in a chair for several hours on Wednesday, June 10.

But Burhannan knew at some point that she might not make it, Barber said. So like the project manager she was, she created detailed lists of what she wanted to see at her own funeral down to songs, speakers and seating charts.

Before becoming sick last month, Burhannan had been taking the novel coronavirus pandemic seriously, friends say. She did not have any pre-existing conditions that put her at higher risk, but she always wore a mask when she went out, she made masks for friends and carried a bottle of Lysol with her when she went into crowded stores.

One time, when a store clerk told Burhannan she didnt feel well, Barber said Burhannan fogged up the entire aisle with her Lysol spray to kill germs, just in case. If someone coughed near Burhannan, she wasnt shy about breaking out her Lysol can.

Friends dont know how she caught the virus. They were unaware of any contact-tracing effort by state officials to determine where she picked it up or who Burhannan may have been around prior to being hospitalized.

But if Burhannan made it out of the hospital, she planned to spread the word that people need to continue to take precautions against COVID-19, Dolphin said.

Her oxygen levels had been holding steady during her first 10 days in the hospital, said Smith. On Thursday June 11, however, Burhannans oxygen levels dropped and the hospital put her on a ventilator.

But it was too late, Smith said. She did so much, I dont know if people realize yet what was lost. But we lost a pillar of our community.

Information on Lisa Burhannan's funeral service.

READ: Harrisburg may hire social workers, violence interrupters with money from police budget: mayor

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Harrisburg grieves loss of another community leader to COVID-19 - PennLive